Denmark happiest country: See full list of 157 happiest countries in the world

by byte clay

Denmark is the happiest country in the world with a happiness rating of 7.526 out of possible 10 points, while the United States took spot number 13. Last year, the U.S. ranked 15th out of 157 countries and the 2016 World Happiness report might explain to many people why the United States lacks behind the world’s happiest country.

Denmark was named the happiest country in the world, according to the 2016 World Happiness Report published on March 16. The report came out just a few days before World Happiness Day on March 20 and was released on Wednesday at the Bank of Italy during a conference on happiness and subjective well-being.

The report is compiled by the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and is an analysis of Gallup World Poll data taken from surveys of 1,000 people in each country every year for three years. They were asked to evaluate their lives on a ladder scale of zero to 10.

Researchers included the following six key categories in determining the happiest country in the world:

1. Gross domestic product (a nation’s output of goods and services) per capita2. Healthy life expectancy3. Having someone to count on, social support4. Perceived freedom to make life choices5. Freedom from corruption6. Generosity

Knud Christensen, a 39-year-old social worker from Denmark, explains what the six categories mean in everyday life and why Denmark is the happiest country in the world for the third time. “We have no worries,” Christensen says. “ And if we do worry, it’s about the weather. Will it rain today, or remain gray, or will it be cold?”

According to Christensen, Denmark takes care of its citizens and with its extensive and generous cradle-to-grave welfare, tax money is spend for the citizens. Unlike the United States, the difference between the rich and the poor and the quality of living is not in such a stark contrast.

“Few complain about the high taxes as in return they benefit from a health care system where everybody has free access to a general practitioner and hospitals. Taxes also pay for schools and universities, and students are given monthly grants for up to seven years.”

Denmark’s 5.6 million citizens know that if they lose their jobs or become ill, the state is there to support both men and women, especially since women hold 43 percent of the top jobs in the public sector.

Below is the complete list of the world’s 157 happiest countries with Denmark as number 1, including the countries’ scores:

The complete list of all 157 countries including its scores and rankings in regard to the six categories is available as a free download on the World Happiness Report 2016 Update.

Just shortly before the World Happiness Report 2016 was officially presented in Rome on Wednesday, Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University stated that “happiness and well-being should be on every nation’s agenda,” not just in Denmark, the world’s happiest country.